The extraordinary 2019 horror movie was proof that Ari Aster had a long career ahead of him, but another Florence Pugh horror proved that Pugh herself was more than just a one-trick pony. Directing Hereditary in 2018, Ari Aster was the most exciting thing to happen to the horror genre in decades. And by Midsommar's ending, it was clear that Pugh had cashed in on Aster's success, honing her horror career in the rural Sweden nightmare flick with aplomb. Yet, one Netflix movie showcased Pugh's horror chops beforehand. She might have become Hollywood's leading Scream Queen if she weren't so popular in every genre.

With every death in Midsommar, it became increasingly clear that Pugh had experience in horror. She masterfully navigates each devastating blow to her character's security. Pugh's character, Dani, develops from a subjugated and depressed girlfriend to a lethal May Queen, avenging herself of her boyfriend's inadequacy and infidelity in the shocking coup de grâce to their relationship. However,, perfecting the skills that led her to Midsommar. This movie is terrifying in its own way, and may be able to capture different kinds of audiences from Midsommar.

Florence Pugh is brilliant in Malevolent, where she plays a scam artist faking paranormal encounters. Although Pugh previously starred in an intriguing 2014 mystery thriller called The Falling, . Pugh stars alongside Saint Maud's Morfydd Clark in The Falling, playing a tearaway teen with chilling ties to the supernatural. Likewise, in Malevolent, Pugh's phony paranormal investigator appears to start to experience real paranormal activity. This leads to scary thrills, some of which are comparable to some of Midsommar's scariest scenes.

The Falling is actually better than Malevolent in many ways, with Malevolent suffering from some lazy writing and clichés in places. But it succeeds as a surprisingly effective genre movie, with Icelandic director Olaf de Fleur pulling out some interesting psychological horror tricks. Aster's development of the cult and customs in Midsommar rely heavily on psychological horror as well, as trippy visuals blur the line between hallucination and reality. making everyone question what is really taking place.

Malevolent got mixed reviews and holds a 54% on Rotten Tomatoes, but it is one of those movies that shows merit so specific to its genre, that it may well not appeal to everyone. A cult member wears Mark's skin suit in Midsommar, demonstrating creative, violent, original gore the likes of which cult movies hadn't seen. , showing similar creativity with its violent episodes. As ghosts threaten to overwhelm Pugh's Angela in Malevolent, she has increasingly aggressive visions in a haunted house. Unpleasant injuries haunt the shots in the movie as Pugh struggles to deal with them.

With mouths sewn shut, small children pitter-patter around Malevolent's haunted house, exemplifying the irrepressible vengeance of the past and the challenge of keeping it separate from the present day. Some say that Midsommar is one of the worst horror movies of 2019, unbelievably, but it proves that the pastiche of Malevolent is often more widely understood than Aster's stark originality. Malevolent lies in a strong tradition of haunted house movies and will please those who have been following this subgenre. Midsommar, meanwhile, is stranger fare and has less cinematic tradition to rely on.